It’s been 47 days since the Columbia women’s basketball team played a home game at Levien Gymnasium. On Monday night, the Lions made the most of their homecoming, besting Princeton, 58-50, in an Martin Luther King Jr. Day rivalry matchup in Morningside Heights.

It took some time for the Lions to find their footing and range, as Princeton jumped out to a 30-20 lead at the intermission.

The Lions shot only 31% in the first half, hitting 10 of 32 shots, while the Tigers capitalized on high-percentage inside plays, shooting 58.3% and outscoring the Lions 22-16 in the paint.

The Tigers were paced by Ashley Chea, who tallied 10 first-half points, and Parker Hill, who netted eight points on 4-for-4 shooting. Hill finished the game with a perfect stat line of 12 points on 6-f0r-6 shooting.

But Princeton was hit hard again by the turnover bug, giving the ball away 13 times in the first half and 24 times in the contest.

Initially, Columbia failed to capitalize on Princeton’s miscues, scoring only two points off Princeton’s first half turnovers. But in the second half, the Lions turned the tide, cashing in 11 more Princeton turnovers for 16 points.

“I just think [there was] a lack of focus in the first half and [we were] focusing on the wrong things,” coach Megan Griffith told ESPN+. “We were a little amped up. We haven’t been home in 47 days, and, you know, I think it was a lot to have our fans back. . . . And I was like, ‘Guys, its just like another game. You know, we just have to let the game happen.’ And once they did that and we stuck to the game plan, they were great.”

The game turned in favor of the Lions mid-way through the third quarter. Susie Rafiu got things rolling with a putback of a Riley Weiss missed three-pointer. Rafiu then hit a straightaway three to get the Lions to within seven, 32-25.

Rafiu’s three-pointer was a momentum changer for Columbia, which had struggled to connect from outside all night long. The junior forward from Ipswich, England finished with 13 points, three rebounds, an assist and four blocks and was named the Player of the Game by ESPN.

On Princeton’s next possession, Olivia Hutcherson missed an open baseline jumper and Columbia ran it up court and got the ball in the hands of Kitty Henderson, who turned the corner on Hutcherson to score a layup to bring the Lions to within five, 32-27, with 6:27 to go in the third quarter.

After a missed three-ball by Princeton’s Skye Belker, Cecelia Collins drew double coverage in the paint and kicked the ball out to Perri Page, who drilled a trey to make it a two-point game.

The Tigers badly needed a bucket to stop the bleeding and they got it when Ashley Chea hit a turnaround jumper just as the shot clock expired. But Rafiu answered for Columbia with a layup to keep it a one possession game.

After a Tigers turnover, Weiss drove the lane and drew a foul on Ashley Chea. Columbia’s leading scorer had been kept off the scoresheet the entire game, but when she had the opportunity to net two free throws, her confidence seemed to be restored.  The sophomore sharp shooter ended up with eight points on 2-for-13 shooting.

After a missed three point attempt by Chea, Collins nailed a straight-away trey to give Columbia its first lead of the game, 37-36, with 1:21 to play in the third stanza.  The Lions never looked back from there.  Collins led all scorers with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Two free throws by Kitty Henderson to end the third quarter punctuated a game-changing period for Columbia as the Lions outscored the Tigers 20-6 in the frame.

In the fourth quarter, Columbia steadily built a double-digit lead. A bad pass by Chea, one of five turnovers by the sophomore guard, led to a runout by Collins for an easy layup.  After another Princeton turnover, Weiss finally lined up a three-ball, to give Columbia a 47-38 lead with just under eight minutes to play.

The Tigers never challenged after that as Columbia cruised to victory, 58-50.

For Columbia (13-4, 4-0 Ivy), the win was sweet redemption after losing to Princeton in last year’s Ivy League Tournament championship game on the Lions’ home court, 75-58.  The triumph also gave Columbia sole possession of first place in the Ivy League standings.

For Princeton (12-5, 3-1), the loss snaps a seven-game winning streak and serves as a wake-up call for a team that may have gotten too comfortable to playing on its home court over the past six weeks. Coming into this contest, the Tigers hadn’t played on the road since dropping a nail-biter to Utah in Salt Lake City on Dec. 8.

The Tigers have struggled at times this season with ball security, especially when facing pressure on the road. Princeton’s 24 turnovers on Monday night, including six by Belker, were its second-most of the season.

Princeton will remain on the road for three more games, including a Saturday afternoon tilt at Cornell.  Columbia will host Penn on Saturday in a 2 p.m. ET clash at Levien Gym.